Preparing for 2013 Ironman Coeur d’Alene (Race Day Start)

Race day is Sunday, 23 June. The last two times I did this race, the weather was perfect for racing. Last year was a bit tenuous though, as there were nasty storms in the area, and lots of rain during the night. The sun rises around 5 am, so you will be able to see without headlamps when you arrive. Now is the time to get into transition and fill your water bottles as well as make any changes to gear in the gear bags that you checked in the day before.

As usual, only competitors are allowed in the transition area. It gets a bit congested at the entrance to transition, so have the family stand back so everyone can get in and out.

Parking on race day is going to be a bit different than on prior days as they start to close off the streets early. Last year the race course changed, so we could not go the normal route (Northwest Blvd exit off I-90). The best bet is to take I-90 to the 4th Street exit. Head south on 4th street until you are almost downtown (they close 4th before Sherman) and then drive over to 2nd or 3rd Street and park there, North of Sherman. This is especially good for spectators/family that won’t be there the whole day. They will be able to leave without getting stuck by race closures.

You will be wearing a wetsuit as the temperature of the lake is in the 50s (F) on race day. There is plenty of space in the City Park and near the beach to get ready. There are also permanent restrooms near the North end of the park, but they might not be open yet when you first arrive. The restrooms next to the beach are always closed (they do have porta-potties).

Prepare yourself for a lot of people as it gets quite crowded with spectators at the beach. When the beach opens up for competitors, there will be a small opening that you have to go through to cross a timing mat.

You are all set now. You’ve trained for weeks on end and when the horn sounds, it’s everybody into the water! Have a great race!

One comment on “Preparing for 2013 Ironman Coeur d’Alene (Race Day Start)”

I am not suggesting that you avoid fast running altogether. But I am suggesting that you strictly limit it. In addition to the threshold-pace transition runs I described above, you may also do some fartlek runs with 30- to 60-second spurts of 5K to 3K race pace running scattered throughout an otherwise steady, moderate-pace run, some very short (8-10-second) hill sprints after you’ve completed one of your weekly easy runs, and progressions, consisting of one to three miles of running at marathon to 10K pace at the end of a base run or long run. That should do it.